Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-07-30
THE ELECTRIC CARS.
TRAvRL SAFE ON THEN DURING 4
THUNDER.sT0RM.
Views Of an Official Of the Union Line
The Plant-When tho Poles will
be Put Up.

world during severe thunderstorm
will be on one Of our cars !"
This assuring declaration was made
Yesterday by prominent official OF the
Union Passenger Railway Company.
"And I'll give you little illustration
which will prove it. You put light
ning-rod on house. Why? To con-
duct The lightning during a storm to
the ground and keep it from striking
the house. II you put 500 lightning
rods around house the case would be
the same, except that the house would
be that much safer. Well, now, our
cars will be just like that house. Be-
sides, the wires on them are SO arranged
that the fluid is not only diverted, bat
divided, rendering its force less. Why,
when our cars are running, we are
having an electrical-storm allth time
every minute in the day. That's our
horsepower. We don't have to wait
for thunderstorm to come up to get
electricity playing around the cars. It's
there all the time. Our force is
lightning itself, and this lighti-,ng
is constantly running through the ears.
No, sir. The idea that our cars will be
dangerous during a storm is all wrong.
/ never heard Of anybody getting hurt
on an electric car in my life, yet read
III your paper the other day that one of
the City railway horse-car drivers was
knocked down bv the shock from an
electric bolt. II place with num-
ber of electric wires III it is dangerous,
then it is very likely that the operators
in the telegraph Offices or the telephone
Offices would get struck. But they
don't, because the current is diverted
from them and goes into the ground.
HOW TELEGRAPH POLxs ARE srRUCK.
"If what you say is true how do you
account for objects connected with
electric wires being struck, as in the case
of telegraph pole 2" asked the re-
porter.
"When pole is struck You will al
woys find that little jagged end of
wire has been left sticking out where
the main wire was fastened to the insu
lator. Instead, after being wound
around, Of pressing this end close
against the main wire or nipping it off,
the inefficient workman will leave it
sticking out. The current runs ont on
ii and has to 90 somewhere, 50 it usu-
ally strikes the pole.
viii Your machinery be u such
canabilities rs to prevent the motors
from beng surcharged with elcctri-
city,"
"Ch. yes. Our plant is so delicate
in its formation that, whether one car
or fifty ears are running, the current
will SO adjust Itself as not to give a car
more power al one time than another.
Cnc thing else: Our lines are 50 ar
ranged fiat if wire is cut at ony point
cars on the route, except at this point,
viii continue to run.
TBACK-LAYING.
Glow is your trlck-laying pro-
eTcssing?"
"Very well. We are laying about
mile week, and the track has gotten
rs far west as Ashland street, near the
Clark 's-Spring property. We would
get on much faster il we could get lum-
Ter promptly. II we were building in
the North We would lay about a nile
and n half with our present force OF
hands. When We approach lumber
dealer here and want him to put up
20, COO or 10, coo feet of lumber at once
it iriehtens him. And yet this is
lumber district, | believe. We will
finish laying our track, though, in
the curves. in abous three
weeks.
POLES AND ILANT.
"1he contracts for the iron and
wooden poles will be let next week.
I he plank is being put in the build
ing at the corner Of Seventh and Canal.
The Jarvis patent furnace has already
hcon put up and one Of the boilers is
being put i'll to-day. There will he
three boilers, each 100 horsepower.
They measure Is by 1G feet apiece
and are five eighths of an inch thick.
The balance of the machinery
consists of three Arlington X
Sims engines, 1C0 horsepower each
] stack - inches in diameter and rs
feet high 6 dynamos; = pumps to
supply water to the boilers, forcing it
heater and thereby furnish
ing the boilers with hot water. The
is being putin by the Jarvis
Company, of Boston.
We will have the plant completed by
lst.